The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-06-12
CONDENSED LIGHTNING.
Some Interesting Points About Edison's
Different Electric Systems


Some Interesting Points About Edison's
Different Electric Systems
NEW YORK, June 11.-In the base
ment Of Broadway, at the corner
Of John street, is a circular iron
plate on whose surface raised letters indicate
that it belongs to Mr.. Thomas A. Edison,
Americas greatest inventor Every other
evening about s O'Clock, after the busy
thoroughfare has been deserted by every
son of toll, excepting it may be the thirsty
tramp and the thlrstier policeman, an
intelligent, neatly dressed man carrying a
medIum-slzed box energies from the dusk
and stops at the plate. From the box he
draws a singular looking rug about two
feet square and four inches thick, COM
posed Of loosely wound and more loosely
woven cotton wick. On this he kneels and,
then with queer assortment of cold
chisels, cleaners, jimmies and wrenches
removes the plate after much toll from the
metal frame in which it was so firmly set.
| Beneath is large square chamber whose
walls and floor seem to be incrusted metal
Near both top and bottom are ponderous
| rings of polished copper separated and held
| IN place by unacceptable pads and washers
| of some dark substance that looks like silky
India rubber. From each ring wires radiate,
passing through the walls of the chamber
and losing themselves in the earth below
| the pavement. The man gloves his hand
| with a rubber glove and works few
| minutes with the complicated attachments,
here removing piece, there Tightening a
screw, here changing the position of a wire
| and there inserting an insulator. AS he
| paused l asked him which of the many
electric systems begotten in Menlo Park he
was engaged upon. This time upon the
Edison Illuminating, though / superintend
| several others end frequently am called in
to consult upon electrical matters by out
side concerns. Tonight I am testing and
regulating"
"Why do you take so many precautionsg
PARTLY for my own safety and partly for
the sake of doing first-class work. You see
there is a current moving through those two
mains, as we call Them that could kill 100,
| 900 men in an instant. If through careless
ness put myself in its way and gotits full
force that would be the last of me, A year
ago was a little thoughtless or clumsy, and
| slightly grounded the negative main. )
That is, l touched that upper ring of cop
| per when one knee was on the bare paving
stone. Here's what the current did" He
rolled up his coat and shirt sleeve, and dis
played muscular arm that looked as if it
| had been engraved with a chisel and then
eaten with nitric acid to produce an etching
plate 81 was in the hospital over a month
for that, and it was SO tough a lesson
that I'll never forget it. I'll show you how
| strong that current is HE took broken
| pair of fine pliers and holding them with a
cleft piece of wood touched one end to the
upper copper ring and one to the steel cover
rim. In an instant the gray metal broke
into sparks and flame He removed it with
the remark: THAT current would burn up a
crowbar or a lamppost if it were properly
directed"
is there much dangerF"
| "There used to be, but it grows smaller
| every day as we know more about handling
electricity It's like horse sometimes that
runs away. 1t will get into railroad tracks
and knock horse over and sometimes kill
| the animal. Sometimes it leaks out of the
| wires and gets into water or steam pipe
and then paralyzes some of these Italians
you see digging up the streets nowadays.
| They think it is the devil and hold prayer
meeting. Sometimes it gets us boys. Down
| in Wall street one day the lights were be-
having badly and | went down to see what
was the matter. Everything was all right
| inside the offices, and so | went out in the
| street to see if there was leak or O. bad
wire. 1t was raining little, just drizzle.
| I put my hand on the plate glass window
and was knocked down just as clean as if
| Sullivan had done the job. You see the
wire leaked just over the window, and the
|
| gold lettering, made good conductor, and
| | got the benefit of the job. I was sore the
next three days, but | fixed it up all the
same as if nothing had happened. We hate
| to let on to outsiders when we get caught
ourselves 1t don't look professional and
they always guy us.
''Do your wires perform any work beyond
| illuminatingp
Certainly, all sorts and kinds. 1t runs
| ", ne hrI1a
| in barber shops, sewing and knitting
machines in private families, passenger and
| freight elevators, dentists augerS and the
bellows for church organs. 1t rings the
| bells in flats and opens doors, and protects
houses from burglars Then it is now used,
and so far as l know these are the latest
| ideas out, in reinforcing telegraph and
telephone circuits, in nickel, bronze, copper,
silver and gold plating in putting metal on
the backs of looking glasses and in running
| electric clocks.
"There are probably newer things than
| that but / haven't heard of them yet.
| Every day there isn't less than one new
patent on some funny racket or another. l
| saw one that was put in an-up-town brewery
| last month It was called a compound i'm
| uroyed tele-thermometer and the name
wasn't as big as the work the little thing
would do. 1t would ring bell better and
Quicker than you or | can do if Waterman
went asleep, if the engine ran too slow, if
the room grew too cold or if it grew too
warm. if fire broke out or if the water
pipe burst In fact, it would do everything
| that good brewery hand would do except
| drink its employers beer"
''How do you know how much force you
useF
''Oh, that's simple enough. Edison has
got it down SO fine that we know. | might
say how many piuts or ounces we turn ont
at the central Office how much flows in
each wire, how much leaks, how much is
wasted and how much is tapped and drawn
OFF by our customers. It's sort of queer
notion to think that you have got thunder
and lightning storm condensed IN that
apparatus and that you are retailing i'll
| little chunks or pieces"
During the conversation, he had finished
the work, readjusted and fastened the cover
into the rim, luted it with red lead and re-
filled the box with his many implements;
With a CHEEKY goodnight" he disappeared
in the darkness on his way to the next
chamber down Broadway.
WILLIAM z. S. FALEs.
Practicing all Winter.
1.-THE st. Paul Pioneer Press tells this
story about one Of the prominent physi-
tNE